Colloquium Series - Archive | Other Series - Archive Eugenics, Popular Culture, and American Education: Race Betterment Moves from the State Fair to the Public School Classroom Steven Selden University of Maryland, College Park
Thursday, April 1, 1999 Early Twentieth Century American nativists were deeply concerned for what they saw as the "degradation" of the American population. In their eyes, America was loosing its "Nordic" character and becoming too brown and too southern and eastern European. Combining Francis Galtons nineteenth century recommendations for human breeding with a naive interpretation of Gregor Mendels work, the American eugenics movement successfully lobbied for laws which reduced immigration from eastern and southern Europe, legalized the sterilization of those judged socially "unfit," and restricted interracial marriages. Using a series of archival slides, Dr. Seldens presentation will trace the organization, popularization, and impact of eugenics on American public policies during the first half of the twentieth century. Specific attention will be given to the influence of eugenics on the public school science curriculum between 1914 and 1948. This session should be of interest to community members who wish to better understand the historical links between what some call, "scientific racism," and social policy. Steven Selden is Professor and Coordinator of the Curriculum Theory and Development Program in the College of Education Department of Education Policy, Planning, and Administration. He holds the doctorate from Teachers College, Columbia University and has written extensively on topics related to education and the Popular Eugenics Movement in early twentieth century America. Author of Inheriting Shame: The Story of Eugenics and Racism in America (Teachers College Press, 1999), Dr. Selden has taught and lectured in Israel and the Czech Republic, and was a Fulbright Scholar in the Beijing Normal University in the Peoples Republic of China in 1994. |
Spring 1999